Saturday, 19 January 2013

Great Weather for the Marathon, but Take Care

I am writing this on Saturday morning, a day before the 10th Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon, and the weather is perfect. I was on Marine Drive at 10 am, with two living legends of distance running, Haile Gebrselassie and Fauja Singh and was surprised by how cool it was. It's perfect running weather and let's hope it lasts for at least 24 hours more.
However, since its unusually cold for our city, I thought I would thrown in a few points which runners should be aware of:

1. Plan to carry something to warm you up, before you leave home, and as you wait at the start line. Two great options are an old t-shirt or a large garbage bag, with appropriate cut-offs for your arms. Both, can be discarded after a few km of running, probably after the sea-link for half marathoners, and after marine drive for the full. (please, please don't throw the garbage (pun intended) on the road, but in a trash can).

2. While this weather is great to attempt a personal best, don't get carried away at the start. Stick to your pacing plan (trust you have one ready by now). If you are feeling great, you can always accelerate once you hit the home stretch at Marine Drive. That still gives you plenty of time to put in a better than expected performance.

3. Don't ignore hydration. Your thirst cues may be a bit off, due to cooler weather, but I suggest you stick to your usual hydration and nutrition plan (again, I trust and hope you have a plan).